That hissing sound you hear is the Edelman Trust Barometer dropping like a lead zeppelin. The main culprit this time is Google. Did you read its Oct. 8 blog post? In “Project Strobe: Protecting your data, improving our third-party APIs, and sunsetting consumer Google+,” the search engine leader says, among other things, it’s phasing out Google+.… Continued

On October 2, Amazon pledged to pay all U.S. workers $15 per hour beginning next month. All 250,000 Amazon employees and 100,000 seasonal staff will receive the higher wage, as will workers at Whole Foods. “We listened to our critics, thought hard about what we wanted to do and decided we want to lead,” Amazon… Continued

Coming up with a PR crisis management plan is not particularly difficult. The steps are well known: move promptly to accept responsibility (this might include someone losing her/his job) and be transparent about what occurred; apologize with humility; launch an internal investigation and release results; and enact a plan so that the mistake won’t happen… Continued

News broke this weekend when Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s heretofore-anonymous accuser, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, came forward alleging Kavanaugh attempted to sexually assault her when the two were at a party in high school. This makes the likelihood that he’ll be approved for a lifetime appointment as a Supreme Court justice more precarious… Continued

Every day we throw something out, tossing it into the garbage or recycling bin without much thought. At home, we cart the trash can up to the curb (or have our kids do it) and go on with our lives. Meanwhile, back at the office, we are letting a lot of work garbage pile up.… Continued

If you listen to podcasts in which Hollywood actors and directors are interviewed you’ll often hear the statement, “I love telling stories.” It’s always about storytelling. It’s never about entertainment or making a beautiful dollar. Storytelling is presented as a calling and given a spiritual sheen. Entertainment, by contrast, is crass. You can’t help but… Continued

During the winter and summer holidays the PR department of a big pharma company sends employees a note about the company’s views on issues that might arise during conversations with friends and family at social gatherings. With so many negative stories swirling around the health and pharmaceutical sector and 80% of people believing pharma puts profits ahead… Continued

“First we eat, then we do everything else,” the preeminent American food writer M.F.K. Fisher once proclaimed. We can all agree that food is an important part of our lives. So when the CEO of one of the fastest-growing startups issues a memo proclaiming that it will no longer serve meat at corporate functions or… Continued

It’s difficult to know what will become of the Trump administration’s immigration policy that includes separating children from their families at U.S. borders. It’s a moving story at the moment. As of this writing, it appears the president, after a June 19 evening session with congressional Republicans, has promised to “sign something” to presumably keep families… Continued

You could feel the tension rising in the air, knocking out the aroma of coffee beans and herbal tea. Nancy had ordered a decaf-caf skim latte and the barista seemingly got it wrong. She stormed back to the counter and told the staff in no uncertain terms that her coffee order was wrong. The customer… Continued